Meet Lillian Gray Charles: personal stylist + energy healer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lillian Gray Charles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lillian, how has your pespective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Since 2011 I’ve driven to homes across the Southeast to dig through closets and provide hours of close-up closet counseling. Very fortunately, before COVID-19 I made it a point to move as much of my business online as possible. Creating a virtual experience for my clients has been so wonderful for them and has helped me embrace balance more than I’ve ever been able to do. Not only are my clients thrilled with the digital resources I can provide to them in real time — digital look books with links, tutorial videos, etc. — but I get to (voluntarily) stay home and see more people. I have more energy to pour into growing my business and offerings now that I’m not running around Atlanta hard and fast 24/7. Balance has been a priority for me in 2020.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Growing up I never really saw myself as artistic or creative. My grandmother was a celebrated portrait and landscape artist so I always identified creativity in that way. Now I understand that I see the world very differently and even creatively, not only with my own two eyes but with my intuition. Because I am in touch with my intuition and am extremely empathic — I pick up on others’ feelings and emotions on an extraordinarily deep level — I am able to connect with clients in a very unique way. Many if not most of the women that I work with say that I am able to see things for them that they never would have imagined for themselves. To me, this is a creative and Spiritual gift: taking one thing, seeing possibilities — physical and non-physical — and then coaching a client to get on board with the possibility. The magic of my work is a combination of traditional personal styling and intuitive ability. I’m really proud of it and I’m really thankful that I get to do it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Anywhere that I can experience green! The top of Hotel Clermont or PCM looking out over surrounding neighborhoods, on the garden patio of a Virginia Highlands restaurant in the Spring or floating down the Chattahoochee in the Summer!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Gosh, I really believe that it “takes a whole village to raise an entrepreneur!” so, I love this question. My parents have been such major cheerleaders of me and my vision since Style Therapy’s inception so they are always my #1 shout out. In the time that my best friend, Indira Cruz, earned three graduated degrees, I built a business! We talk every day and are big cheerleaders of one another. My lululemon family — both fellow ambassadors and the fine people who work at the store level — have been a massive support throughout my journey. I am so thankful to the team at lululemon SAL, the managers and educators there meet me with wide open arms and champion my efforts to elevate our community from the inside out. My dear friend and transformation coach Tallia Deljou has been an incredible supporter of mine, helping me create verbiage around the kind of pivot that I’ve done with my business this year. My actual business coach, Sarah Ashman, has picked me up and propped me up one thousand times since we started working together in January 2020. Courtney Adair, who is a marketing guru for Delta has helped me with marketing ideas and positioning — I am so grateful to her. The Women Project, spearheaded by Kiera Palmer and The Lola Women, co-created by Martine Resnick and Eileen Lee, are two womxn’s groups that have put a spot light on my name and my work. I am very thankful for women who recognize other women’s work so lovingly! I could go on and on and on. I’ve been on some incredible podcasts of people I really admire and respect; I am so grateful for those opportunities! I am sure I’m leaving people off! I love everyone!

Stef Jewett has been a visionary for my business. Where I look at the day to day relationship building and get deeply involved in emotionally supporting my clients, Stef asks me to step back and see things on a grander scale, both digitally and for the years to come.